Principal and Major Gifts Officer - Cranbrook Educational Community

Posted on 6/9/2022

Founded by Detroit philanthropists George and Ellen Booth in 1904, Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC) includes the Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Art Museum, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Cranbrook Schools, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Cranbrook Horizons-Upward Bound, and Cranbrook House & Gardens. Located in BloomfieldHills, Michigan, twenty miles north of downtown Detroit, Cranbrook’s 319-acre campus is a National Historic Landmark District that welcomes tens of thousands of visitors each year to the Museum, Institute, and three historic houses. Cranbrook is also home to more than 150 graduate Academy students and 1,600 students in grades pre-K through 12 attending Cranbrook Schools. www.cranbrook.edu

Reporting to the Director of Individual and Planned Giving (DIPG) of the CEC, the Principal and Major Gifts Officer (PMGO) maintains an active personal portfolio of principal and major gift prospects and existing donors and uses professional prospect management techniques to manage their engagement, solicitation, and stewardship for current and lifetime principal ($1,000,000 commitments and above) and major ($50,000 commitments and above) gifts for CEC and its Program Areas. To accomplish this, the PMGO will work collaboratively and in coordination with the CEC Advancement team—including their colleagues at the Academy, Museum, Institute, Schools, Center, HUB, and House & Gardens Auxiliary – to identify and develop solicitation strategies for major gift prospects. The PMGO will track all activity including call reports and interactions with donors and prospects in CEC’s Raiser’s Edge system and provide regular reports of activity progress to DIPG. This position has a critical role in the successful fundraising success of CEC and its ability to meet its financial and program goals.

Compensation: $79,600 - $86,000 per year

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Qualify a group of 150-200 caseload donors, including individuals and family foundations.
• Create individual goals for each donor on the PMGO’s caseload based on the donor’s history of giving and CEC’s knowledge of the donor’s potential.
• Create a plan for each donor that will serve as a foundational communication and marketing plan for each donor on the caseload. Will faithfully and on a timely basis execute the plan so individuals on the caseload are retained and upgraded towards making a major gift commitment of $50,000 and above and principal gift commitments of $1,000,000 and above.
• Work with CEC Program Area development and communications teams to secure appropriate project information, including budgets, and create offers, proposals and asks that are aligned with CEC priorities and will be used with persons on the caseload to secure gifts.
• Solicit donations from individuals and family foundations for capital, endowment, and programmatic needs.
• Work with CEC’s Donor Relations and Stewardship Manager to build relationships through ongoing stewardship of donors. • Create monthly reports as required by management that will accurately reflect caseload activity and performance.
• Perform other major donor activities as may be required.
• Maintain and enhance professional growth and development through seminars, workshops, and professional affiliations.

Requirements:
• Bachelor’s degree required. Development certification preferred (CFRE).
• Minimum of seven years in major gift or planned gift fundraising or related experience, preferably with a museum, cultural or educational institution. Experience in raising high five and six-figure gifts is an advantage.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, including writing and editing formal and informal documents, and high-level organizational skills • Solid interpersonal skills and ability to work successfully with principal and major donors, high level volunteers, senior administrators, and CEC advancement colleagues.
• Computer proficiency necessary, including a demonstrated ability to work remotely creatively and effectively and meet all demands of the position using virtual platforms when necessary.
• Experience using Raiser’s Edge NXT software preferred
• Knowledge of the prospect management best practices; ethics related to philanthropy, appropriate relationships with donors and the donor bill of rights; and standard office practices and procedures.
• Demonstrated ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information. • Ability and willingness to travel regularly in fulfillment of responsibilities of this position.
• Requires a valid Michigan driver’s license with satisfactory driving record.

Cranbrook offers competitive compensation and benefits that include medical, dental, life insurance, longterm and short-term disability, and retirement program with employer match. We also offer generous paid time off, 11 paid holidays and 3 optional holidays, employee discounts, and a unique environment in an educational setting that values collaboration.

For consideration, please submit a resume and completed Employee Application to: Cranbrook – HR, P.O. Box 801, Bloomfield Hills, MI 48303-0801, or fax (248) 645-3014. Applications and HR email address for submissions can be found on the Employment page of our website at www.cranbrook.edu/employment (Please note that a fully completed employment application is required for consideration).